Being there for someone
by hidden stranger
Summary: Filmmaking is not always as entertaining for the ones who give to us the wonderful shows we enjoy, for one Desert Canine it has become something he doesn't even wish to participate in any longer. Can one bird change his mind about that?


A/N, Greetings everyone who has found the time to read my fic, this is my first Looney Tunes story so please bear with me on how it turns out, one can only get better at these things so I thank you for you're patience, enjoy!

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An alarm clock gave its deplorable shrieking on the bedside table of the small trailer it resided in. A brown furry paw reached out and composedly clicked the button to silence the device rather than merely destroy the machine. As a comforter was pulled back, a coyote's face was shown, Wiley Coyote of the Looney Tunes, lying in his comfortable bed, he groaned and whined as he looked from his bedside alarm clock to his ceiling, the very idea of leaving this place of peace and comfort was a notch above insanity to the desert dog. Unrolling the covers, Wiley E Coyote growled as he sat up over the side of the bed, twisting his head to the side to feel a satisfying crack as his muscles loosened up. He tiredly looked around his living quarters and rubbed his muzzle with his paws, brushing away the crust from his eyes and shook his head to wake up. He stood up and walked over to his bathroom to prepare for his morning, running the shower and climbing in after feeling the heat of the flowing water meeting his expectations. The coyote lathered himself with soap and shampoo, clawing through his fur to get every inch covered and clean, he stepped back into the spray of water, feeling the warm gushing of H20 running down his face and over his thin shutting off the water, Wiley climbed out of the shower and toweled off, leaving himself puffy and fresh smelling. He looked in the mirror and quickly shook his body, getting his fur back into his usual thin appearance as he walked out of the bathroom.

Stepping outside his trailer, the desert dog began the walk to Warner Brother Studios, the day going so far as it had the very first day he'd been accepted at the studio, he's gotten himself into something of a bland routine, never changing anything for the reality of how smooth things seemed to go with how he'd organized his daily life. Wiley E Coyote walked into the studio set room, letting out a sigh as he saw the cameras and stage crews setting up for the day's shoot.

His eyes wandered over to his fellow cast member Roadrunner, the bird was sitting in a chair resting up after having done his morning stretches and warm ups. the bird ran an average of 38 miles a day, never complaining, never making anyone wait because he was tired, the coyote found that to be rather impressive despite his character's desire to see him finally fall one day. The assistant gave the coyote his day script for what was being shot, it wasn't so much a script, so much as a preparation list of what injuries he would endure that day. As the dog's eyes scrolled through the list he let out a sigh, this was going to hurt today, like yesterday, and the day before that. As the crew set up for the shoot, Coyote inwardly growled at some of the ridiculous things he had to suffer through, it wasn't just falling off a cliff, or getting blown up, they'd added things such as impalement and being set aflame to by the failed traps he would set up courtesy of Acme, a company he'd grown to despise off the set for it's obvious agenda against coyotes. The director gave him a thumbs up that they were ready to go, Wiley closed his eyes and groaned,

_here we go again._

After the shoot, the cast members left the set, finished up for the day after having done two retakes of the same scene. It had unfortunately been Wiley's fault, he'd been off his timing of where to be when the ricocheting boulder was coming down, as well as dropping his sign used for the audience in his close up. The director had been less then pleased with him that day, his temper short and full out yelling at the canine to get ready for the next shot or consider his career at Warner Brothers finished. While it was somewhat of an accident what had happened that day onset, in truth, Wiley E Coyote was sick of his position with the company. Every single day there hadn't been a moment of success for his role in the cartoon, the repetition was beginning to bring him down.

The knowing that he had no opportunity to advance to something better. He'd become so typecast that from his perspective there was only this cartoon for him, everything else felt as if he wouldn't hack it.

The desert dog sighed and walked off set after receiving another warning glare from the director, making him nervous and stressed out. The shooting was finished, his job was done, at least now he could go home.

Unlike many of the other toons who constantly chatted with each other between scenes and after work, Wiley didn't speak to any of the toons most of the time. In reality it was rare for the coyote to speak in general. He didn't just communicate through signs on the job, but in his actual life as well, somehow not comfortable with how his voice sounded and for fear of saying something that would dig him into a hole he wouldn't get out of, so he stayed silent.

As he left the set, he could hear several cameramen in a group on the side of the studio near him mention his name and then laugh. He turned to see them, were they laughing at his performance today? Were they laughing because they enjoyed the skit he'd done? His hopes began to rise a tad as he walked over to the group, holding a sign that read, "Did you like today's work?" one of the members pointed at the sign and chuckled, nudging his friend with an elbow. The coyote's brows raised in optimism, though it soon began to fade when the cameraman turned and looked back at him.

"Yeah it would've been alot funnier if you hadn't wasted our time on the set today." he said smugly, the dog's face fell at the man's words, another chimed in,

"Seriously Coyote get it together!" Wiley's ears dropped as he turned from the group and left, their mocking laughter didn't begin to die down until he found himself fully outside the studio. The thin canine sighed and began trudging home, at least there he couldn't feel humiliated,

He only would feel worthless.

The canine hadn't noticed Roadrunner watching him as he left the set, seeing his cast buddy appearing very down and out of his typical upbeat and scheming demeanor. The bird watched as he left the studio, he knew the dog wasn't really friends with anyone, it seemed to Roadrunner, the coyote was very shy and not outgoing for a reason, but he wasn't sure why. What he was sure of, was that Wiley needed someone to help him out of the downer of a mood he was stuck in.

Not making a noise and staying a few blocks away, Roadrunner followed Wiley E Coyote back to his homestead. He watched him climb into his trailer and shut the door behind him, the desert bird looked around for anyone else before making his route to the creature's home. It felt somewhat ironic to him as he went his way to the canine's residence, the supposed meal advancing to the eater willingly. There was little worry within the bird however, he had a decent enough belief that Wiley didn't actually see him as lunch, or at least had high hopes that was the case or this would be rather uncomfortable.

The coyote collapsed on the couch in his trailer, resting his head against the armrest of the other side of the leather cushion. He closed his eyes and exhaled, attempting to let out all the frustration and dragging depression out in one breath. Yet even as he sucked in as much air as possible and released it, the low feeling remained. He brought his paws to his face, covering his eyes, what was really left for him? He couldn't keep this as a career forever, doing the same thing over and over until he finally went completely insane.

Just as he was feeling lower then the sediment his trailer rested on, a tapping came at his door. Coyote looked over at the door, not making any move just yet, if someone had come by to continue drilling into him over what happened at the studio today then they could wait. The dog rolled over on his side and faced the back of the couch, ignoring the tapping on his door. He tried to push it out of his mind and take a nap when he heard his unlocked door creak open.

Roadrunner glanced around as he poked his head into the trailer doorway, the light changed dramatically as he looked in. All the windows had been covered by dark curtains which lay tightly shut against each other, leaving the room in near perfect darkness. The avian proceeded inside and began his hunt for the coyote, he could see a small kitchen, a few pieces of paper with plans or sketches on them from previous acts together, there also was a few books lying on the dining table along with an opened bottle of wine sitting in the corner of the counter top to his right.

The dog flopped his ears over his eyes, so they decided to barge in anyway to yell at him huh? He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of his attention. It was all going well until his keep sense of hearing picked up a very recognizable phrase.

"Meep meep." He rolled over on his back to find himself staring face to face with Roadrunner.

Wiley looked at him wide eyed staring him up and down, was that bird really standing before him in his home right now? The desert avian stared down at him, crooking his head to the side with a smile on his beak as Wiley held up a sign.

"What are you doing here?" The bird silently responded with one of his own,

"You want company?" He read the sign and looked back up at the bird who stared at him positively.

"I want to be alone." The dog's reply read, the bird raised another one.

"Why?"

"Because I want to be alone." He set the sign down and rolled over facing the couch. Closing his eyes in hopes the bird would take the hint to leave, his silent plea was ignored as the canine soon felt a weight added to the couch beside him. Wiley looked over and watched as Roadrunner climbed up on the couch and sat behind him, resting his head on the wild dog's side. Coyote groaned and rolled over, seeing the bird raise his head and bring it down once more to rest on Coyote's stomach as his long neck and body laid between the canine's legs. Wiley looked down at him with a raised eyebrow, bringing up another sign,

"You really aren't going to leave are you?" The bird shook it's beak as the dog pulled up another sign,

"Not afraid I'll actually eat you?" Again the bird shook his head no, he knew the dog was only going to be more miserable by himself and that wasn't right.

Coyote sighed and laid his head back down defeated. Fine, if the bird wanted to stay then who was he to deny the attempt on the avian's part at friendship at this point? He relaxed his muscles, feeling the bird nuzzle himself into a comfortable position as he kept his head on the dog's upper stomach. The dog raised a paw over the bird's head, Roadrunner gulped and closed his eyes, suddenly hoping he hadn't made a mistake in trusting the toon he'd worked with for so long. The paw came down on the Roadrunner,

and it stopped? The bird reopened his eyes, looking up at Wiley who was letting his paw sit on the bird's head, then brushing over the long blue feathers in long smooth strokes. The desert dog had a relaxed look on his face as he continued to run his fingers over the bird's feathers. Gone was the frustration and anger Roadrunner had always seen in his coworker's eyes during all of their work so far together. The bird smiled and rubbed his head on the coyote's stomach against his warm fur, getting nice and comfortable. Coyote watched him bring up another picket sign,

"Why were you looking so sad today?" As he read the bird's question, the canine gave a small exhale as he stared off into the distance. For the first time in several years, the coyote opened his mouth and worked his vocal cords, clearing the dust off of them and finally ending his silence.

"I...*cough* I was just ahem, thinking about my future here." He said continuing to pet the bird who stared up listening closely, his eyes wide finally hearing the dog's voice which had been non existent for so long.

Another sign rose,

"You CAN talk! Wow!" The coyote snorted a chuckle, "Of course I can speak, I choose not to." The bird lifted his head up and brought his wings forward, supporting his chin with the left wing while the right lay spread at an angle toward Wiley. A silence took place for a second as Roadrunner gave the dog an interested look before bringing up another sign,

"What did you mean about you're future?"

"Well, not that it isn't a great experience doing the same thing day in and day out, but I've just gotten so sick of being unable to branch out into different roles other than trying to capture you all day unsuccessfully." Roadrunner sat up, turning from Wiley and looking at the floor for a second. Wiley watched another sign appear,

"You..don't like working with me?" Upon reading this, Wiley quickly shook his head hoping to not have hurt the birds feelings,

"No no, I don't mind working with you, it's just, I'm sick of having to fail at something I'm sure many who watch us would well want to see me succeed at, at least sometime." The bird nodded still looking away from the desert dog."Not to mention, who's the one who always get crushed, squashed, burnt, stabbed and knocked off cliff edges here huh?" He could see Roadrunner snicker slightly at him, Wiley's eyes narrowed,

"It's not funny. Every time I land or something lands ON me, it hurts..alot!" the bird's quiet laughter stopped as his face retained a serious expression, his eyes slowly looking back at the coyote.

A sign sprung up, "It...does?" Wiley could practically hear the sudden change in the bird's thoughts as he sighed,

"Yes you fast devil it always hurts.." Hearing this, the bird's face fell. A long silence fell between them, neither made eye contact for a moment. Without a word of preparation, the roadrunner scooted next to Wiley's side and rested his head on the coyote's shoulder. It was all the bird could think of at the moment to do, what he felt was needed for Wiley, their first real conversation together already had brought down the bird a bit, now knowing everything he did about his partner in film making's dilemma. For so long it had just gone unnoticed by him, every day of shooting, the two never spoke, they certainly didn't on set and so for all this time the bird hadn't a care in his mind about Wiley's personal life, about really who he actually was outside of their scenes together. He could feel a small tear roll down his beak and drop off onto the canine's lap. The coyote looked down,

"Oh stop, its not that bad, don't get all weepy on me." He groaned lightly, sliding his paw over Roadrunner's head feathers once more, encouraging the bird to get a grip on himself. Roadrunner shook his head before setting it back into Wiley's shoulder, bringing another sign up.

"It is too, you should be allowed to be happy."

Wiley sighed and leaned his head back, "Well...maybe someday." He said loosely, his hopes clearly not taking a big leap of faith at the moment as he sat with the bird.

It wasn't long before the two grew more and more sleepy on the couch, their conversations finished and both content with the cool silence that rested in the air around them. The dog moved over some, allowing room for his supposed prey to scoot up closer. Wiley felt the bird over his legs and settle down next to his belly, tucking his head into the dog's chest. He gave him one last brush over the head before dozing off to sleep.

After two solid hours of comfortably napping, Wiley cracked his eyes open and looked around. The roadrunner was still asleep basically on top of him, snoozing peacefully, the coyote felt a small grin work its way onto his face. With a small knock on the bird's large beak, he awoke the desert avian.

"Hmh, It's time you got be heading home." The bird shook it's head and slowly turned to the clock, it read 8:45pm. Roadrunner yawned, his beak clacking together as he closed it. Sitting up, the bird cracked his neck and stretched his legs and wings as he worked to fully awake from resting on the desert dog. Wiley rubbed his eyes and stood as well, stumbling slowly toward the door and opened it, the sunset greeting the two as they stepped outside of the trailer.

Wiley smiled down at Roadrunner as he stood and looked at the sunset,

"Thanks for the visit, don't feel like you have to do this everyday." He said with a small chuckle, the bird nodded, a smile upon his beak as he brought up a final sign,

"Anytime."

Clapping his heels together, desert bird raced off with a cloud of dust trailing behind him. Wiley shook his head and smiled as he returned into his trailer to set in for the evening.

The next day, the canine was back on the set, feeling a tad more enthusiastic about his day's coming performance. He knew what would happen, he knew there was nothing to stop it, but for some reason, he didn't feel as if he was alone anymore. He felt as if he was actually working with legitimate friend in the business,

And for him, it was actually worth the pain.

Wiley watched as the cloud of dust began racing toward his "hideout", he did feel as if the trap they'd encouraged this time was almost an insult to his intelligence. Merely a looped rope attached to a spring that was triggered by a single wire set across the road. The coyote gritted his teeth, preparing for the oncoming injury, momentarily thankful the pain was merely temporary, several seconds only at a time. Hearing the bird close it, the coyote sighed and yanked the cord up tightly and awaited his animated onslaught of agony.

But he was greeted with a different outcome.

The Roadrunner, in his dash for the crossing, had jumped prematurely over the rope, getting his foot snagged in the line and actually properly triggering the device. Wiley gasped as he watched the surprised bird suddenly jerk to a halt for a sec and then come flinging upward, his head smacking against a large residing boulder up top where the spring stretched out to and returning to the pavement even faster with an audible *W hump* and a dust cloud settling at the bottom. Wiley coughed as he swept the dust away from himself and the crew to see what happened, he soon was face to face with an upside down Roadrunner, still grinning, but dangling by one foot snagged in a spring with his wings crossed. The coyote picked up a fork and a knife and began approaching the bird, who's face once full of enjoyment, now seeing the dog coming near him with a hungry look on his face. The bird gulped, unsure of what to expect, his foot was stuck in the trap and he had nowhere to go before the canine closed the space between them. Giving one final grin, he brought a sign from behind his upside down back.

"Hey you caught me"

Wiley nodded grinning somewhat evily, forcing another gulp out of the bird as he took a step closer. Raising the fork and knife, the director's voice was sounded in the background, screaming at them having ruined the scene. Wiley got up face to face with the bird and licked his lips, his eyes focused on the now genuinely frightened avian.

Then Wiley gave a small wink,

Turning around he flung the over sized sharpened fork straight at the overhead of the director's chair, forcing the director to shriek and duck as he heard a piece of flatware embed itself into the beam above smiled and swung the sharpened knife, cutting through the cheap metal string, allowing Roadrunner to fall but not without being caught by the canine's other paw before he hit the stage floor. Setting him down on both clawed feet, Wiley grinned and patted Roadrunner on the back, pulling his own small sign out from behind him.

"Thanks buddy."

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A/N, Wow that was a first for myself but I do enjoy attempting to break ground in my works so I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it, please review if you may, I do enjoy all comments and thoughts regarding this story, thank you and have a great evening!


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